1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to games and, more particularly, to games which are played with movable pieces to form words.
Throughout this disclosure, the female gender will be employed for referring to players for sake of simplicity of explanation although it will be understood the players may be of the male gender or may be of mixed genders.
2. Prior Art
Numerous word games have previously been developed for play by groups of individuals. These games, such as Scrabble(copyright), are both educational and informative insofar as they require the players to compose words formed with a limited number of letter tiles and board space. For example, in the Scrabble(copyright) game, words are formed using single-letter tiles selectively placed in spaces on a two-dimensional matrix printed on a playing board. Scoring is determined by point values assigned to the letter tiles as well as bonuses assigned to some of the letter spaces, that is, double and triple letter spaces. The point value assigned to a letter depends upon the frequency of use of the letter in the language. For example, an xe2x80x9cx xe2x80x9d has a higher assigned value than does an xe2x80x9cexe2x80x9d. While the Scrabble(copyright) game has enjoyed substantial commercial success, word formation is relatively simple because each tile contains only one letter. Furthermore, scoring is primarily based on letter usage, rather than on word length.
There are a number of other known word games which are described in the patent literature. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,053,537 to Moss discloses a word building game having several different classes or kinds of pieces, some displaying single letters of the alphabet, others displaying equispaced two letters forming word-parts, and still others displaying equispaced three or more letters forming word-parts, which pieces may be juxtaposed in such relation to form words.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,374,065 to Motskin discloses a game according to which a first player places a first plurality of tiles on a grid marked game playing board, then a second player places only a single tile on the board adjacent to the first plurality of tiles and wherein the first and second players continue to build about the first plurality of tiles and the second tile by placing additional pluralities of tiles on the board.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,199 to Hahn discloses a word game which utilizes a deck of sixty cards having letters that appear in numbers corresponding to their frequency of use in the English language. Fifteen cards are dealt to each player who must then make as many words as possible from the fifteen letters, using the letters again from word to word. The words are scored based on length with one point being given for each word having three letters and a larger number of points being given for words having a greater number of letters, up to a maximum of fifteen letters for any one word.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,548 to Trilling discloses a word game which comprises a number of multiple-letter alphabetic tiles as well as single-letter alphabetic tiles located by a player on successive letter spaces on a printed playing board. Each player has her own playing board having printed thereon a single row of letter spaces. One of the spaces (termed xe2x80x9cmaster spacexe2x80x9d) receives a randomly picked multiple-letter tile (termed xe2x80x9cmaster tilexe2x80x9d). A word is formed by the player by adding single-letter tiles to the master-letter tile so as to compose a word. A score point value is assigned to each letter space on the board with the magnitude of the score point value depending on its distance from the master space. The score point value of a word is determined by adding together the point values assigned to the letter spaces corresponding to the starting and ending letters of the word. Score point values may also be assigned to the master tiles.
In the Trilling game, some of the letter spaces are designated as xe2x80x9cjoker spacesxe2x80x9d. If a single-letter tile, designated as a xe2x80x9cjokerxe2x80x9d, falls on a joker space in a composed word, a bonus value is added to the score point value of the word. Players obtain high scores by formulating long words with a maximum number of joker tiles landing on joker spaces.
It was with knowledge of the availability of the foregoing word games that the present invention has been conceived and is now reduced to practice.
In a word building game according to the present invention, initially, each player randomly draws playing tiles, each displaying either a letter face or a wild, or blank, face, from a supply source. Initially, she places them in a row for her own private viewing but not being capable of being seen by the other players. Then she constructs a word or words with them, positioning them in her personal viewing area so as to be readable by the other players. Each player records her score for each word based upon the number of tiles in each word plus the number of tiles reused, in reading order, to identify additional words within each of the constructed words. The player notifies the other players when the scoring for each word is completed as a signal that allows the other players, in right to left order from that player, to name any unidentified words and thereby gain extra points for themselves. At the conclusion of the turn, the player replenishes her playing tiles to the predetermined number originally drawn and the play transfers to the next adjoining player. After the completion of the first round, an initial player creates new words from her row, changes already created words in her playing area by adding another letter, and/or surveys the personal viewing areas of the other players to determine if new words can be created from their words by adding at least one new tile already at her viewing area for each stolen word. If so, the player removes the word, adds the necessary tiles and recreates the new word at her viewing area. The player then generally scores such words based upon the number of times those words have been recreated and the number of tiles used in the new word as well the number of tiles used in the words found within that new word. The player continues to create and score as many words as possible from as many players as possible in this manner, each time notifying the other players when the scoring for each word is completed. When unable to create any more words, the player replenishes the used tiles and play transfers to the next adjoining player. Play continues until the end of the game, determined when all of the tiles have been removed from the source of supply and one of the players goes out by using all the remaining tiles in her row, and/or, when none of the players can construct a word with the tiles remaining in their personal viewing areas. After deducting for penalties, the highest score wins.
The present invention, then, provides a word building game for two or more players utilizing a pool of playing tiles each bearing a letter of the alphabet on its face, with several blank tiles, and a scoring sheet for each player.
A primary feature, then, of the present invention is the provision of a novel word game which is challenging to players.
Another object of the present invention is the provision of a word game which encourages the formation of words which contain other words within them by basing score value on the number of times the same letters are reused as well as word length.
Still another feature of the present invention is the provision of a word game which is simple to play and easy to manufacture.
Yet another feature of the present invention is the provision of such a word game which presents a challenge to the intellect of the players.
Still a further feature of the present invention is the provision of such a word game which can be utilized in developing language skills, it being recognized that there exists a continuing need in our society for such language development.
Yet a further feature of the present invention is the provision of such a word game which requires the players to carefully scrutinize the construction of the played words, thereby encouraging spelling skills as well as word recognition skills, a knowledge of definitions being essential to the understanding and acceptance of the played words.
Still another feature of the present invention is the provision of such a word game which may be utilized by teachers and students of English as a Second Language as well as remedial classes.
Another feature of the present invention is the provision of a word game which may also be built into a computer program substituting the screen of a computer as the game and scoring board with rules built into a diskette or cartridge or possibly designed as a video game.
Yet another feature of the present invention is the provision of a word game that has the potential to become the basis for a television program.
A further feature of the present invention is the provision of a word game in which the distribution of letters is selected to roughly mimic the frequency with which these letters appear in words in the English language.
Yet a further feature of the present invention is the provision of a word game that allows for an infinite variety of words involving both chance and skill, the letters being drawn by random chance and requiring the skill to put those letters together into meaningful, acceptable words.
Yet a further feature of the present invention is the provision of a word game with a key feature of affording the players an opportunity to increase their scores by taking the letters of other player""s words and reusing them in creative reconstructions of new words and thereby increasing the value in arithmetic progression of the reused letters, the value of the letters increasing each time they are reused.
Still a further feature of the present invention is the provision of a word game in which the materials employed for the tiles is not generally critical unless specifically stated, being made of wood, ceramic, plastic or any other suitable material and in which the current score sheet, while believed to be highly suitable for the present version of the game, may be modified to suit expanded applications of the rules.
Still another feature of the present invention is the provision of a word game in which the letters are not static, remaining on a board, unchanged except by the addition of letters, horizontally or vertically as is the case with the Scrabble(copyright) game, but rather may be moved from player to player and, indeed, may be removed from a fellow player and scrambled to make an entirely different word.
Yet another feature of the present invention is the provision of a word game in which blank tiles, so-called xe2x80x9cwild tilesxe2x80x9d, may signify different letters whenever they are reused, the wild tiles being physically removed from player to player to allow for a degree of flexibility not seen in many other games.
Still a further feature of the present invention is the provision of a word game which provides players with the ability to reconstitute the letters into new words, thereby demanding a degree of skill in cognitive restructuring not fully found in other word games.
Yet a further feature of the present invention is the provision of a word game in which the score value of each letter is increased in arithmetic progression each time that particular letter is reused in a new word.
Still another feature of the present invention is the provision of a word game in which players identify words existing within the letter order (left to right) of formed words and, thereby, increase their scores and in which other players may reap additional scores for themselves by identifying words within words which other players may have missed.
Still a further feature of the present invention is the provision of a word game presenting a challenge to the players to construct words from which they may extract the highest possible score but which will also be difficult for other players to steal.
Yet a further feature of the present invention is the provision of a word game in which players may develop strategies to determine which letters or wild tiles to use and when to use them in order to obtain a higher score and also to xe2x80x9cgo outxe2x80x9d when desired.
Yet another feature of the present invention is the provision of a word game in which the First Player is selected by forming the first or longest word in the first round.
Other and further features, advantages, and benefits of the invention will become apparent in the following description taken in conjunction with the following drawings. It is to be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory but are not to be restrictive of the invention. The accompanying drawings which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this invention, illustrate one of the embodiments of the invention, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention in general terms. Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the disclosure.